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LINK 'Queer Disbelief' pairs atheists and LGBTQ communities as allies - Religion News ServiceReligion News Service'Queer Disbelief' pairs atheists and LGBTQ communities as allies - Religion News Service

Why are they allies?

When we look at data on the characteristics of these two communities we see there is a ton of overlap between LGBTQ and atheists. Close to half of LGBTQ persons say they are nonbelievers, so from the beginning it is crucial to recognize we are never talking about one community in an isolated way.

Beyond that, so many of the most significant issues facing LGBTQ people can affect atheists in some way, like violating the principles many atheists hold dear. When we see laws that seek to give business owners the right to discriminate against LGBTQ customers based on their religious beliefs, that’s state-sanctioned privileging of one belief system over another. When religious schools that receive taxpayer money can fire LGBTQ people, that’s an infringement of the separation of church and state. And in both cases, the laws that target LGBTQ people could also be used against atheists.

zblaze 7 Apr 18
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13 comments

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2

Well this would explain why I've been an ally since my college years.

2

Makes sense to me the LGBTQ community would be Atheist or at the very least Agnostics. What doesn't make sense to me are my gay friends who are Christians or some other religion that would have seen them dead in another time and dead now in another place (middle east) This to me defies logic.

I'll say! ♥

2

It seems like Just the opposite in missouri

2

I have thought so for a long time.

2

You are so right. I also think the atheism/agnosticism from the LBGTQ community members largely is more a conditioned response to the rabid religiosity we have seen running rampant in recent years, particularly since the marriage equality issue has been brought to the forefront. They like partake of our tax dollar contributions, but are loathe to accept that we have the same right to use our tax dollars and exercise our rights. Too many of the religionaughts have made it crystal clear that we are not welcome and are somehow relegated to a lesser than status that is socially acceptable to openly discriminate against, not to mention, going to hell. What terrible examples of CHRISTains they are, all the while claiming to follow Christs teachings! Who wants to be part of that?!

3

We are both fighting against marginalization and bigotry. The LGBT community is a great example of how we can normalize atheist in a dominatly Christian nation.

2

There's bound to be a lot of crossover. An atheist rejects the notion that there's a god up there somewhere who has decreed that you are only allowed to obtain sexual gratification in ways that put future generations of bums on pews for him. Once you can accept that sex doesn't have to be (potentially) reproductive, that it can be a form of bonding between two consenting adult human beings, or even just a bit of fun, you open yourself up to various possibilities that don't follow the cishetero norms.

Some gay people do manage to reconcile their sexuality with their religious beliefs - probably quite easy under a liberal church such as the Church of England, but not so much under Catholicism, Islam or as a Jehovas Witness. Plenty of flavours of religion still teach "It's okay to be gay, as long as you keep your trousers on." Remember kids, God owns your genitals. You're not allowed to take sexual pleasure from them unless you're in a religiously blessed relationship and at least risking pregnancy.

4

Most atheists or agnostics, at least the ones I've known, have experienced some sort of marginalization; the same has been true of most gays. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. This is a simplistic way of stating it, but I think it is fairly accurate.

2

There is so much anti gay sentiment from religions, seriously, isn't it where most of it comes from?
So, atheists have no reason to have any issues re LGBTQ, and many LGBTQ would be turned away from religion. If the world goes any further to the right, atheists may find ourselves attacked yet again.

2

I would agree that the 2 communities marry up together quite well.

Heh, “marrying up”... I see what you did there ?

@ZenBear No pun intended

1

Yup. Natural allies

1

There is quite a bit of overlap between the queer community and atheists, but I think it's really unfair to say that the two groups are allies. I know many gay Christians. My belief system (or lack of one) is antithetical to their spiritual beliefs, and it wouldn't be fair to lump them into the same category as atheists.

Likewise, there likely are atheists who are also homophobic. I'm not so concerned about offending them, but I am interested in maintaining accuracy when comparing the two groups. Those people would not be allies with the queer community.

I see where the misperception comes from. To the mainstream eye, both groups are considered anti-Christian. It's not true for everyone (not even among atheists). And while I do not fully understand the concept of a gay Christian (or even worse, a gay Muslim!), I don't want to misrepresent their faith by associating them with atheists.

There are many belligerent Christians who are hostile to both queers and atheists, and I feel that we can band together to combat these cancerous Christians, but this is true for any hateful group, such as Nazis.

1

When one considers how the alphabet crowd has been treated by organized religion, this is really not all that surprising.

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